EDIT:MEH! I didn't realize I forgot to take the translation for Yami's spell off before I posted this! Sorry!
BH: I'm tired, I'm sore, and I'm now quite sure my house is haunted...
Rhane: Folks, our beloved authoress, magnet for all these strange and supernatural, has been taking pictures of her new house all day and there are orbs everywhere
Bezelbub: shifting through a large collection of pictures on Bloodstained Hallelujah's all-knowing-laptop And I thought my family was weird...
Nathan: They are weird. You're the children of Lucifer...
BH: Anyways, I doubt you folks wanna listen to my rants and raves about my new house being haunted, so I'll, for once in my life, get right to the story, mostly cause I'm too dead tired to write a witty author's note without giving myself a migraine worthy of Seto Kaiba on his worst day
Malik: That's a first
BH: Oh, shut up, dumb blonde
Malik: grabs BH's hair You're one to talk, miss neon-white rat's nest
BH: Man-whore!
Malik: Hentai reject!
Christ: sweatdrop While the children argue, I'll take care of BH-chan's normal jobs. Thanks to our wonderful reviewers, I think BH-chan's beta readers nearly died of shock when they realized that some people actually got off their lazy arses long enough to give a review
Rhane: MESSIAH! Such language!
Christ: blushes Also, thanks for the favorite Ayako-san, Sanity-san won a bet with Amanda-chan thanks to that. Koibito, would you mind doing BH-chan's disclaimer?
Rhane: Do I have to?
Christ: Holy Glare of Death
Rhane: Jeeze, alright... Disclaimer: While BH may not own Yu-Gi-Oh, she does own the evil sadistic little bitch gets hit in the head by Christ with the Lance of Longinus Oww, damn Messiah... Kuro, the all-too-disturbing Night, and the ever-creepy guardians. God and Daddy and all in-between help us all.
Christ: There is still something frightening about Lucifer being called Daddy... How the mighty have fallen...
Rhane: This coming from the son of God reincarnated as a human to escape the corruption of heaven...
Nathan: loudly AND NOW ON WITH THE STORY!
Into The Night Chapter 2: The Beginning of The End
BH: Ah, the cheesy titles know no end...
Day 1
Yugi poked his head cautiously into the room and let out a soft sigh. "Still asleep?" Jou asked, leaning over his shoulder to peer into the room.
"Yeah," Yugi sighed, closing the door. He rubbed his head, "What a day..."
"Morning, boys," Suguroku mumbled sleepily as he walked by, heading into the kitchen. He paused and turned around, "I thought you were going home last night, Jounouchi." He groaned, "Never mind. Do you two want breakfast, or will you be too busy swooning over that girl you dragged in yesterday?"
"Sure, Gramps," Jou replied offhandedly, giving a slight wave.
Suguroku shook his head, "She's not going to wake up for a while. Just let her sleep." He chuckled, "Getting thrown out of a Shadow Realm portal will take its toll on you, you know." (Beta line #2 of 13)
Chuckling to himself, Suguroku smiled at the two boys and moved off into the kitchen to make breakfast for his one grandson and his grandson's possibly someday more than a best friend. He paused at this thought, shook his head again, and decided it was time to stop eating jalapeños and whiskey before bed.
"Never a dull day with you around," Jou muttered, shaking his head. He glanced back at the door, "Where d'ya think she came from, anyway?"
Yugi shrugged and opened the door again. The girl still had not moved from her spot on the guest bed. She looked almost normal, black hair marked with streaks of premature grey, and eyes lined with kohl, until you saw her clothes: a short black ancient Egyptian-style skirt, ripped at the edges, and a set of black cloths crossing her well-endowed chest. Gold bands circled her arms, wrists, and neck, and a single gold chain held her hair in a knot at the base of her neck.
"Gold city," Jou muttered, following Yugi's gaze, "think she's rich?"
Yugi only shook his head and closed the door, "C'mon, I'm hungry, and we've gotta go to school today."
Day 3
/Aibou/
Yugi sat up in his seat slightly/What is it, Yami/
/I think your friend's awake. I can sense Shadow magic coming from your house. /
/Shadow Magic/ Yugi asked, sitting up straighter/Is everything okay/
/I don't think it's anything to worry about. It seems like defensive magic. /
"Yug'," Jou muttered as he leaned over in his seat once their teacher's back was turned, "what's up?"
At that moment their teacher turned around, "Something you two wish to share with the class, boys?"
"Nothing," Yugi and Jou chorused.
A few seconds later, a folded piece of paper skidded into Yugi's desk. Their teacher turned back to the blackboard and Yugi was momentarily blinded by sunlight reflected off his bald spot. He looked down and opened the note.
'Well?'
Yugi sighed and scrawled back:
'Yami thinks she's awake.'
He flicked the note back at Jou just before the teacher turned back around. He glares suspiciously at them for a moment, then returned to his lecture. Once he turned his back again the note skidded onto Yugi's desk.
'How?'
Yugi rolled his eyes.
'There's Shadow magic coming from the house. Nothing dangerous'
'Ya sure?'
/Yami/
/I'm sure. /
'Yami says he's sure.'
'Want me to come when ya go home?'
'Yeah that'd be great, thanks'
'No problem, Yug''
"Mr. Mouto," a hand came down on Yugi's desk. Yugi looked up and cringed. "The note, please." Their teacher held his hand out. Yugi heard Jou slap his forehead and swear.
'I can't give it to him!' Yugi thought, panic-stricken. 'How am I supposed to explain this!'
"Mr. Mouto..."
Cringing, Yugi looked down at the paper and, with a gulp, balled it up and tossed it in his mouth. He could practically hear the jaws dropping as he chewed.
"Well," Jou muttered, shaking his head, "I guess detention's better than what woulda' happened if he'd 'a read it."
Yugi kicked a rock and sent it skittering into the wheels of a passing car, "But it's still unfair. We were supposed to go to that movie with Anzu on Saturday."
"How mad was she when ya told her?" Jou asked, having been arguing with their teacher at the time.
Yugi sighed, "She's giving me the silent treatment. Says I should have just given him the note, 'not like it was a love letter or anything.'" He shook his head dejectedly.
Jou cringed and thanked whatever higher power was listening that Yugi was looking at the ground at the moment, because he was quite sure he was blushing. He was distracted, however, when Suguroku came running out of the game shop to greet them.
"She's awake," he wheezed, bending over to catch his breath. Yugi's eyes instantly lit up and he opened his mouth to speak. "But you don't want to go in there!"
"Why?" Jou asked, glancing up at the window to the guest room.
"She... She tried to attack me!" Suguroku gasped, "I opened the door to check on her and she nearly bashed my skull in with her fist!"
"What!"
Suguroku nodded weakly, "I locked her in the room, but she picked the lock! I've got her locked in the cellar when she came after me again."
"Did she say anything?" Yugi asked worriedly.
"Nothing I could understand. She was speaking a language I've never heard before, but I got the distinct impression that she didn't like me."
/If you're going to insist on checking on her, and I know you are, aibou, then maybe you should let me take over. /
/I thought you said she wasn't using dangerous magic. / Yugi thought bitterly.
/It's not the magic I worry about. / Yugi felt Yami give a mental shudder. / She's angry. I can feel it. /
"What is it, Yugi?" Suguroku asked, catching Yugi's vacant 'I'm-talking-to-Yami' expression.
Yugi blinked, "Huh?" He shook his head, "Sorry. What?"
"We gonna go check on her?" Jou asked, glancing over Suguroku's shoulder at the shop door.
Yugi nodded slowly, "Yeah. Yami wants to get a better look at her."
As they walked into the shop, Suguroku was making sure to keep a few steps behind the boys, Yugi felt himself being pushed back into his soulroom so Yami could take over. He watched through his own eyes as Yami opened the basement door and was struck with a blast of Shadow magic powerful enough to knock him off his feet. He stumbled backwards into Jou and groaned.
/Yami/ Yugi mentally shouted.
/ I'm alright, aibou/ Yami assured and Jou pushed him back onto his feet/ she simply caught me off guard. /
"You okay?" Jou asked, giving the ex-pharaoh a worried look.
Yami gritted his teeth and nodded, "This is going to be interesting." He stepped across the threshold and was struck with another blast of magic. This time, he was prepared, and set up a barrier of his own to block the onslaught. There was a startled gasp from the foot of the stairs, and Yami stepped forward.
"Y-Yami?" Jou asked worriedly.
"Ssh..."
He took a few more steps down the stairs and paused, "She's set a trap here. Don't move."
Jou, with one foot raised in the air, froze on the spot. Yami closed his eyes and touched the Millennium Puzzle hanging around his neck. It glowed for a moment and a translucent, deep red wall appeared before him.
"That's a trap?" Jou muttered.
"A powerful one, too," Yami muttered, waving one had slightly at the taller teen, "nothing like any trap card in a duel." He reached out and placed his hand on the wall, whispering an incantation in Egyptian. A moment later, the wall shattered and Yami began walking forward again. Jou gave a relieved sigh and dropped his foot with a resonating thump. Yami shot him a dark look and moved further down the stairs.
She was standing at the foot of the stairs, a long knife held in each hand, glaring up at Yami with blank, pitch black eyes. Dark mist was curling out of her eyes, wrapping in tight tendrils around her body. It suddenly, and very oddly, occurred to Yugi that she wasn't much taller than he was, but something in the way she stood, in the way the mists wrapped around her, made her seem much taller, much more dangerous.
"Kela!" she snarled, pointing one of the knives at Yami, "Kela nadorhuan!"
"What the heck's she sayin'?" Jou muttered, backing up a step.
"I don't know," Yami whispered, backing up as well, "but she's definitely not happy with us."
Without warning, the girl charged at Yami, taking long, dangerous swipes at him with her knives. He dived to the side and tried to get behind her. Without warning, she swung around and rammed her elbow into his throat, effectively winding him and knocking him backwards down the stairs.
/YAMI/
Without missing a beat, she charged at Jou, who wasn't nearly as quick to react as Yami was. He danced backwards up the stairs, barely more than an inch from each swipe of her blade.
She was good, Yami had to admit. Her moves were frighteningly random, never striking for the same place twice, and once blade always swung around to block any the other left, but there was a grace, almost ease, to them, one that betrayed exactly how thought out each swipe was.
'He won't be able to avoid her much longer,' Yami thought, 'I have to do something.'
/What about a spell/ Yugi asked/A trap like she set/
Yami fell silent for a moment, watching Jou dancing within inches of death, each swipe getting a little closer to his gut. Something clicked in the back of his mind.
Suddenly her hand arced up and struck Jou across the face. He howled in pain and stumbled back, hands reaching for her face. She smiled wickedly, the mist around her body reaching for Jou, twisting around him.
"Don't stop, Jounouchi!" Yami shouted, "She'll kill you if you stop! Lead her back into the guest room! I can trap her there!"
Jou stared, Yami's words taking just a little too long to register. The girl leapt forward, but Jou pulled back just in time. The blade struck by the corner of his mouth, and Jou leapt back, cursing.
"Tanya!" she shouted, darting forward again.
"Get her upstairs!" Yami shouted, dragging himself to his feet.
Giving his one last backwards glance, Jou nodded and turned to bolt back up the stairs. Suguroku, who'd been standing at the top of the stairs, dived out of the way for safety. Jou ignored him completely and pounded his way to the stairs, praying the psycho midget wouldn't catch him first.
He paused at the top of the flight of stairs to dump a bag of marbles from his pocket down the stairs. Much to his utter horror, his attacker simply leapt onto the wall and charged him that way.
"Jeeze!" Jou shouted, spinning around, "That always works in the movies!"
"Dolle na lost!"
Jou swore and dived into the guest room that the girl had previously inhabited and pinned himself flat against the open door. Moments later, she came charging into the room, and Jou grabbed the doorknob and dived from the room, slamming the door behind him.
"Made it!" he shouted, slumping down against the door to catch his breath, "Jeezus she's fast!" A chunk of the door suddenly exploded outward and Jou yelped and dived across the hall. "Holy shit!" he moaned, staring at the kitchen utensil protruding from the door exactly where his head had been.
"Jounouchi!" Yami gasped, skidding to a stop in front of him, "Are you alright?"
"Fine," Jou croaked, his whole body shaking, "just lock that scary broad up or something. Now. Please."
Yami nodded and closed his eyes as the Puzzle began to glow again. He stepped towards the door and reached into his pocket, "Signum is ianua; signum is atrum animus." He withdrew a fistful of ash from his pocket and scattered it on the floor in front of the door. "Per illa cinis cineris redimio huic locus is atrum animus. Subsisto reus hic adeo ut peius mos est patesco. Trans is versus, tantum putus can insisto, quod tantum putus ero tutela. Subsisto reus insquequo vestri atrum mos est absentis. Sic is est written, sic is vadum exsisto."
The door glowed faintly for several minutes before falling blank again. Yami staggered and fell backwards, and Jou had to dive forward to catch him before he fell. Grunting, he sat back against the wall again and let Yami lean against him.
"She's... very powerful," Yami muttered, eyes closed, "She almost stopped me."
/Let me take over again, Yami/ Yugi suggested/You need to rest. /
Yami nodded and relinquishing control of Yugi's body, retreating into his soulroom for a nice, long, nap.
"You okay, Yug'?" Jou asked, looking down at the smaller boy.
Yugi looked worriedly up at the gash on Jou's face, well aware that it probably needed stitches, and nodded numbly, "Just a little tired, but what about your face?"
"Eh?" Jou reached up to touch the stream of blood running down his face, "Oh, this? This is nothin'," he yawned, widely, suddenly exhausted, then winced as it stretched the wound, "Man! Runnin' from psychotic midgets sure takes it outta ya! I need a nap, then we can worry about this." But, when he looked down again, Yugi was already asleep, head nestled against Jou's chest. "Ya know, you're right, Yug'. This seems like the perfect place for a nap, right outside the scary broad's door!"
An hour later, when Suguroku finally decided it was safe enough to brave the upper corridors of his suddenly crowded home, he would find them fast asleep in that same place, Jou slumped against the wall with his arms wrapped protectively around Yugi and Yugi with his head nestled under Jou's chin, looking for all the world like a small angel.
Suguroku giggled at sight and ran off to find his camera and a blanket to wrap around the boys once he was done getting enough blackmail pictures to last him through a few weeks worth of store-sitting and chores.
Day 4
"Man, Jou, what happened to your face!"
Jou winced at the sound of his life-long friend's voice, knowing all too well that the shout would draw the attention of the entire class. Indeed, before he and Yugi got through the doorway, Jou was swarmed by curious and concerned classmates.
"Broken window," he muttered, trying to force his way through the crowd, "it's nothin', really." Honda gave him the patented 'bullshit' look, but dropped it at a quick glance, but that didn't stop him from wincing every time he saw the sixteen stitches marring Jou's face.
"What really happened?" Honda would continue to ask all through the day, (Anzu looked as though she might, then remembered that she was still not speaking to the boys) but Jou and Yugi would resolutely maintain their story. They had agreed not to tell the others about Yugi's new houseguest, at least until they figured out what to DO with her.
"If we let her go," Yugi reasoned later, "she'd end up in a prison or a mental asylum, or shot... or-"
"I get it," Jou muttered quickly, well aware of the slight panic crossing Yugi's face.
"She's stolen one of my go boards," Suguroku announced as Jou and Yugi entered the game shop that afternoon.
"What?" Yugi asked, automatically looking up the stairs.
"She slipped downstairs while I was eating lunch and ran off with one of my go boards!"
"Huh?" Jou gave Yugi a confused look, "I thought she couldn't get past the doorway."
/Yeah, Jou's right/ Yugi thought, giving his snoozing Yami a mental prod/How'd she get past/
/It's a barrier/ Yami yawned/If she has ill intentions towards us, she won't be able to get past it, but if she doesn't intend to harm you/ he paused to give a wide, sleepy yawn/she's free to move about the house. I placed a second barrier on the shop door last night to keep her from leaving completely. Now, if you don't mind, I am in dire need of sleep. /
Yugi quickly relayed this information to his friend and grandfather, leaving out the last bit about the nap.
"Well, I'd prefer if she DIDN'T steal my merchandise," Suguroku grumbled.
Day 5
Cringing, Yugi opened the guest room door and peered in. The girl was lying on her side on the bed, half-curled around an old-fashioned go board with a single black piece set in the 9-6 point on the board. Her arm lay draped between the board and a cup of black stones.
"Weird," Yugi muttered, walking into the room. A single white piece was set on the edge of the board, "A challenge?"
"Yug'!" Jou yelled from downstairs, "C'mon! We're gonna be late!"
Yugi grabbed the piece off the edge of the board and quickly placed it near the white piece, then turned around and ran back down the stairs.
When he returned that afternoon to check on her, he found another black piece laid out and another white waiting for him.
"You like the color black, don't you?" Yugi mused at the girl, who now sat in the open window, stubbornly ignoring him. "Then I think I'll call you Kuro-chan, at least until we find out what your real name is."
Day 15
Yugi gently nudged the door open with his foot and sighed at the site that greeted him. His charge, seemingly having given up on massacring him once she realized she was trapped, was sitting in the open window, staring out at the fading darkness of night. (Shouldn't it be totally light out by now?) She had been in that same position when he arrived from school the previous day, and all the days before since her captivity began.
"Breakfast, Kuro-chan," he announced needlessly as he set the tray, laden with eggs, bacon, and toast on the desk near her bed, "I suggest you eat it this time, 'cause you won't get anything else till dinner." He smiled despite himself, "Grandpa's still too petrified to walk by your door, much less come in here. And I have to go to school." Recently she had been taking to ignoring her food when Yugi brought it to her.
He got the vague impression that it was because he was currently winning their on-going game of go, but only by three points. Technically, with komi, she was winning. Smiling at this odd thought, he picked up the black stone sitting on the board's edge and set it down effectively capturing another white stone.
"Your move,"
If she heard, much less understood, him, she did not acknowledge it, simply continuing to stare out into the ever-growing light. It occurred to Yugi that her skin, despite having an Arabian tint, seemed to be oddly translucent in daylight, but seemed dark enough to blend in with the night sky behind her at night.
/Are you sure she's human/ Yugi asked worriedly as he left the room/Could she be a monster in disguise/
/She's far too intelligent for an ordinary monster/ Yami mused/Her attack patterns show that, but it is possible. If she is, we are in serious trouble, aibou. /
Yugi cringed/I think she's human... / he replied quickly/I hope. /
"How's she doin'?" Jou asked as he caught up with Yugi on the way to school.
"Well, she's not trying to kill me anymore," Yugi admitted, "but that doesn't mean much."
"Who's winnin'?"
"Me, but she'd win if we were counting komi,"
When they reached the school, they were surprised to find it empty.
"Wha?" Yugi asked intelligently, staring dumbly at the locked gates. In the back of his mind, Yami broke into a fit of giggles. /What's so funny/
/You've been so distracted by Kuro-san/ Yami uncharacteristically snickered/You forgot your Christmas break began today. /
/It WHAT/ Yugi asked.
"What's goin' on?" Jou asked, glancing down at Yugi.
"Christmas break," Yugi muttered weakly, the full impact of his own mental lapse slowly sinking on, "We're on Christmas break..."
"Oh... What!" a grin slowly spread across Jou's face and he punched his fist into the air, "AWRIGHT! ARCADE, HERE I COME!"
"It's going to be way too crowded," Yugi reminded weakly, "Everybody's going to be there." He turned slightly pink, "Probably Anzu-chan and Honda too, and Anzu's still refusing to speak to me."
Jou sighed, "Yeah, you're right." He thought for a moment, "How 'bout we go back to your place and do some dueling?"
Yugi nodded, smiling brightly, "Yeah, and I wanna see if Kuro-chan's taken her turn yet, too."
"You're getting' obsessed," Jou muttered, taking off in the direction of the game shop. "C'mon, I'll race ya back!" But something had caught Yugi's attention. He was looking up at the sky, mouth set in a tight line. Jou looked back, "Yug'? What is it?"
"It's getting darker..."
Thunder roared so close it made their ears ring like church bells and, with an explosion like a hundred shotguns firing, a bolt of crimson lighting struck the ground between them, effectively tossing both boys back several feet.
"What the hell was that!" Jou shouted, scrambling to his feet.
Yugi groaned and sat up, rubbing his head, "Ow..."
There was another explosion of thunder and this time the lightning was a little too close for comfort. It struck next to his shoulder, burning through the fabric and leaving a deep gash in his arm.
"C'mon!" Jou shouted, grabbing Yugi's hand and pulling him up, "I dunno what's goin' on, but I'm not stayin' to find out. Let's get outta here!"
"That sounds good," Yugi muttered weakly as he was yanked forward.
/Yugi! What's going on/ Yami asked, suddenly very much awake/I just sensed a huge surge of power/
/Talk later/ Yugi mentally shuddered.
There was another, much louder, roar and suddenly everything in front of Yugi went red. Flecks of gold flew through the air, one striking Yugi under the eye, and everything suddenly faded into deep, endless black.
End Chapter 2
Jou: staring dumbstruck at the last line BH... twitch
BH: Well, still not as long as I'd like, but I think I'll end there just the same
Christ: You are one sick, twisted little human...
BH: Anyways... it's now three in the morning and I've now watched Prince of Egypt enough times to rattle it off word for word on prompt, so now I think it's time to go to sleep
Marik: slowly backing away from Jou you just try that...
Sanity-kun (aka beta-reader number 5): looking at first author's note Hentai reject? Looks at BH Wow, you're right...
BH: twitch twitch Excuse me?
Nina-chan (beta-reader number 5): Well, look at you, long, natural blonde hair, blue eyes... you're built for the part
BH: I play football, not fuck, thank you very much!
Christ: winces Such an intelligent girl shouldn't have such a foul mouth...
BH: Anyway, the usual stuff PLEASE R&R, comments are always appreciated
Rhane: By the way, if any of you know anything about the Hotel San Carlos in Phoenix, Arizona, please tell us. BH will be staying there over the weekend for a gift show, and we want to know some of the ghost stories people have about it.
BH: Speaking of my trip, I might not be able to update for a while, 'cause as soon as that's over I'm going back to school (man, I've still gotta do my lit homework, too) so please be patient. The more reviews I get, the faster I'll update.